Reduced-sugar spreads brand JimJams gains ‘landmark’ listing

JimJams, the reduced-sugar chocolate spread brand, has secured a listing in more than 500 branches of supermarket Tesco, in a landmark deal for the inventor who quit his job to launch the brand.

Kevin Bath developed the range in response to existing children’s spreads and snacks, which were laden with high quantities of sugar.

The Tesco deal, which will take effect on 25 July, will complement existing listings for JimJams’ milk chocolate and hazelnut chocolate spreads in Holland & Barrett and Ocado. It is the first time that the brand has secured a place in one of the so-called big four supermarkets.

“We’ve been working on this deal for some time now, so it’s great to finally get our product into Britain’s biggest supermarket chain,” Bath said.

“All I’ve ever wanted since day one is to be able to offer parents and their children a healthier and tastier alternative to other chocolate spreads on the market.

JimJams was the first brand to be certified by Sugarwise and, according to Bath, the industry should be forced to introduce clearer food labelling that cuts the confusion around sugar for consumers.

“People should be educated on the facts about sugar and clearer labelling is needed,” said the father-of-two.

“There’s no point beating anyone over the head, but we do need to know more about what we’re eating. For example, how much sugar is actually safe to have a day? If a product has 35g of sugar, what does that actually mean? People need to be better educated.”

JimJams chocolate spreads contain 83% less sugar than standard chocolate spreads, and are also gluten-free. As well as the creamy milk chocolate and hazelnut chocolate varieties, the brand produces a line of reduced-sugar jams with 33% less sugar than counterpart brands.

With a high fruit content of 55g per 100g of product, there are four flavours to choose from: raspberry, orange marmalade, strawberry and blackcurrant.